‘Delay in judgments detrimental’
Justice Charles Hungwe

Justice Charles Hungwe

From Abel Zhakata in Mutare
DELAYS in finalising criminal cases at the courts paint a bad picture of the justice delivery system and becomes imperative to continually review and refine processes aimed at speeding up trials, a High Court judge has said.
Speaking at the official opening of the legal year of the High Court in Mutare yesterday, Justice Charles Hungwe said criminal trials are a fundamental component of the justice system.

“In Zimbabwe, as in many other countries, delay remains a key issue for policy-makers and practitioners who value efficiency and effectiveness as critical outcomes of the criminal justice system.

“Delay has become the benchmark against which criminal justice performance is measured.
“This is for a good reason. Delay, among other things, may be responsible for increasing community disillusionment with the justice system and decreasing satisfaction with the law.

“Delay affects everyone, the accused who might or might not be guilty, the victims and their family who have been aggrieved by the offences against them and the community who demand justice, safety and protection,” he said.
Justice Hungwe gave several reasons that cause delays.

“I will attempt to examine the reasons for which criminal trials in Zimbabwe fail to proceed on the set down day.
“The rationale of such an inquiry is that matters that fail to proceed as scheduled contribute to backlog and delay, both of which consume significant criminal justice resources.

“Moreover, delays in the criminal trial system may result in adverse effects, not the least of which is the anguish endured by the victims of crime, their families and the community demanding protection from criminal offenders.

“When a matter has been set down for trial, the prosecution would have undertaken all the preparatory work which is triggered by an arrest up till and appropriate date has been allocated.

“An element of delays in the finalisation of the matter begins to creep in as soon as a suspect is arrested,” said Justice Hungwe.
He said of those matters that fail to proceed to trial, a significant proportion are finalised either because the matter is withdrawn before plea by the prosecution or the accused tenders a plea of guilty at the last moment.

In either event, the matter is finalised by means other than that originally intended, he said.
He also proffered several remedies to minimise delays.

“In order to improve trial delay, there is need for renewed commitment to development of innovative methods of addressing the four key priority areas which may be broadly identified as follows; improving the quantity, quality and timeliness of information sharing and communication between the investigating authorities, prosecution, defence and the court,” he said.

Promoting earlier discussion and consideration of a guilty plea with the defendant would also help reduce delays.
Justice Hungwe is the subject of a possible judicial enquiry after Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku wrote to President Mugabe in terms of Section 87(3) of the Constitution explaining the allegations of misconduct being levelled against the judge for failing to sentence a man he convicted of murder with actual intent in 2003.

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